Indi jumped off Fleet in one fluid movement and rushed to Rainer, embracing her. She had missed her dear friend more than she cared to admit.

"How have you been?" she asked quietly, too caught up in the reunion to speak much louder.

Frolic trotted up to Spin, flicking her mane over her shoulders and smirking at the red stallion. He hadn't changed, and that just made the ache she had felt in her heart more acute for a second. And then she realized she was standing there, right next to him, and she was frozen in awe once more.

Fleet was extremely excited as he moved past his family and made his way towards his very first friend he had ever made, standing beside the bench.

"Hello Arch," he said in way of greeting, standing only a little awkwardly to the side.

Stice was bored. Mom and Dad were being mushy, Indi was all teary eyed, and Fleet had gone off to socialize with a very blue stallion with very big wings. Which left him alone. Again. He needed friends.

He spotted Saphire over by a Rogue stallion and a whole load of other Serians. Although he felt bad for - once again - shmoozing in on his sister, this seemed to be where the party was at, and he didn't necessarily have to cling to her side. He made his way over as casually as possible, making sure to keep his stance proud and arrogant due to some of the other stallions there. They had the faint scent of battle clinging to them, as if they could never really rid themselves of a warrior's ways.

And when all the world came back,And the light crept up between the shutters,And you heard the sparrows in the gutters,You had such a vision of the streetAs the street hardly understands.- T.S. Eliot

A faint smile graced the small mare's lips; he remembered, that was good. She nodded, flicking her braid over her neck. "Words - hard still, but learning fast. Brittle says I speak better than Id."

The silver stallion snorted quietly as Brittle laughed through a slight unease. Death doll. So Lock still saw herself as such? It was a pity; they'd tried to make a normal girl out of the pieces, but he supposed that it wasn't meant to be. His eyes turned to pretty blue mare. She knew them?

"Yes, indeed," he looked a little closer, and something stirred in his memory. Was this that same little filly that had tackled him at the Festival so long ago? Gods, then he was getting old. "And you would be the Saphire that Hinote's mentioned? You are as lovely as he said."

The red stallion shifted in something like embarassment. "Shut it, old man."

Sanguine snickered, sidling up to the horned warrior before his temper got the best of him. If anyone could still stir Brittle, it would be HInote. And she, of course. "We have lolita complexes now, hm?"

"Please, Sanguine. You know better."

The talk may have been trivial but it was all Hinote needed. Anything to keep this from becoming the mess he feared; here he was, between the two girls who both held pieces of him. At least they could still play at civility. "Ether, huh. Well it's good to know you have someone...for you."

Like I knew you would.

Mirage drew away from him a little bit, eyes dancing to the figures in the distance. Unlike HInote, she could sense the pain behind the girl's smiles. She wished that she could somehow explain things, but it was not her place to. Hinote's heart was his own, along with the pain that came with it. She noticed another stallion coming toward them, similair to Saphire.

Ether smiled at the girl's words, genuinly happy to hear that she was coming along. Lean muscles twitched when he sensed Saphire's relative coming closer, and cast said serian a haunted glance. She caught his gaze and immediatly knew why he had done so. Too many people were here, too many would love to know it was him that had cracked her.

Now he was putting her back together again.

The blue mare was appearing to perk up, seeing the faint recognition appear in Brittle's eyes. A foxy smirk was flashed as she quirked a brow. "Thank you, he doesn't deny it," A soft laugh was given as she said this toward the large horned stallion, playfully mocking her close friend.

Then in a second, she had gained a slightly more serious look, sly gaze sliding to Hinote.

"I think you're taking this the wrong way, Hinote."He doesn't mean as much to me as you do.

Ether turned to glance at her brother, then back to Lock. His gaze ran over her for the first time since their last meeting, and he smirked. "You never cease to be a surprise. What brought you here?"

SaphireSpin offered Mirage a small smile, trying to be happy for them and not hate her all at the same time. It was too soon to judge. "Yes, thanks. That's my brother."She turned, but didn't move toward him. A few more words were dropped before she greeted her sibling."I think we need to have a chat, Bud."

A large grin cracked her face when her gaze finally settled on her brother."Stice, what took you so long?" Was her greeting, a playful flicker hiding behind her eyes.

Rainer had almost tackled Indi when she came off her Serian, feeling a pressure slowly lift off her mind. Good, nothing had happened to her.

"I've been peachy, I guess," She stated as she pulled away, stretching her arms behind her back, "How about you? And where have you been?"

Spin felt like he was going to die of happiness right there before her.He lurched toward Frolic and gently pressed his cheek against hers and closing his eyes. It had been so long, he had almost forgotten what she looked like.

Arch whirled around upon hearing a familiar voice, and gave Fleet the biggest smile he could muster.

Stice raised his eyebrow at all the obvious tension threading the air in the huge group meeting, but said nothing. The only thing that really made him uneasy was the fact that the Rogue looked uneasy, and uneasy Rogues aren't something to be messed with.

He trotted up, snorting at her comment and nodding casually to everyone else. He didn't seem to know anyone, but that was alright.

"Mom and Dad's reunion got in the way. Plus, it's hard to spot you in such a throng." He tossed his mane and looked over the crowd, evaluating but unthreatening. "Quite the party this is."

-

"I've been a bit off. But I'm getting better," Indi added quickly. "It's good to be home.

"It's quite a long story, and I only know parts of it myself. But if you have time later, maybe we can talk about...?" It was a question - she didn't want to hold Rainer down.

-

Frolic nickered in contentment. She had missed him more than she had ever let herself realize, and now that she was with him and throbbing in her heart had finally ceased. She drew back and looked him in the eye, relishing the moment that they had made.

"He would have no reason too, I imagine," Brittle said, returning the grin in kind.

Hinote rolled his eyes. Old man just didn't know when to shut it - but this wasn't the time to start anything. At least the firebrand still had a bit of a spark in her; he caught the slyness in her gaze, the flicker of foxy mischief. He snorted a bit at her remark, slightly surprised. Her and the stallion seemed to be close indeed - but then again, he had never been good at reading emotions on the softer side.

"Could've fooled me," he shrugged, acquiescing the mistake. It left him a little unsure though; if she hadn't found someone already, where did they stand?

Mirage noted the mixed emotion behind Saphire's smile, nodding in return. Hinote had told her vague things of their relation, and had not inquired any further than what he was willing to share. Still, her intuition allowed her to gather more than enough of what had happened, and what could still happen, between them. Hinote's eyes flicked to meet hers at Saphire's final words, and she smiled, hiding behind her mane. She wasn't a jealous mare; she knew the strange ways of a heart, his in particular, and knew better to force him into chains.

"...if that's what you want," the stallion replied, his newfound maturity adding a weight to his words, almost like an oath. He watched as she turned to her brother, noting with a vague warmth the playfulness that still echoed in her. A stray thought chimed in the back of his head - if it turns out to be twins, will they be like this...?

He shook his head, burying the doubts and strange musings. Mirage brushed his side, soothing.

-

Lock seemed to shimmer under this strange Rogue's gaze, Id noted. He said nothing, of course, but he supposed that it was a good thing, in the long run. She needed more than the company of broken warriors, and even though this Ether had an air of danger around him...she could handle herself.

The slender mare motioned over to Hinote and Mirage, and then looked sidelong at Sanguine. "Family. Sanguine said...positive influence."

The girl nodded, absently. She was a bit surprised to see the ease at which her newest bonded took to speaking with this Rogue. Some part of her pleased, another part slightly wary of what this could mean, and why the little Pandora had tried to keep him a secret. Brittle lowered his head to her shoulder, almost a gesture of comfort.

"She and Id are alike, you know," he smirked, teasing at her hair. "They keep things to themselves, regardless. I don't like it much either, but we're both guilty of the same thing. Besides, it's good that she's making friends."

Lock's eyes moved from Ether to survey the large group coming into the grassy fields, before flicking back with a slight question. "You too...are surprising. Thought you...liked being alone?"

Ether shrugged, a smirk playing across his lips. Had it not been for Saphire's still fragile state, and her constant pleading and pestering, he would still be in the cozy confines of his lair. All alone, which he preferred as Lock had guessed.

"I was dragged," He stated with a roll of those empty eyes, "I'm playing escort, if you please."

The air of unease at his presence wasn't at all hard to feel, and he was tempted to call them on it. They judged him by his power, not his restraint. This was taking a lot out of him. A heavy sigh was heaved as he glanced back toward Saphire, momentarily catching her eye.

The little mare reached up, gently tugging at her brother's forelock. Their last meeting had been a sad one, the waterfall of tears that had rolled down her face... She wouldn't let this one be the same. A crooked grin graced her lips as she spoke again.

"We know how to throw them. We're not sure if more are going to come yet, though. We're expecting more, anyway."

She felt whole again, having Stice with her once more. The grin got wider, and she turned to face the other group as well. Ether caught sight of her glowing happiness before turning back to Lock, planning to take notes of this when they returned home. She was progressing faster then he had predicted.

"Will you excuse me for a moment, brother? I was wondering if Hinote would like to come for a walk with me for a moment, so I may tell him a story?"

**

Rainer motioned toward the many tables, smiling.

"Come, sit, spill. I have all night."

Spin could hold back the large smile any longer, only managing a quiet "Hi." to say.

Arch chuckled when words from their past were spoken again, remembering their first meeting. Had it really been so long ago? He felt old now, "I've been wonderful, my friend, thank you. So tell me, why wait so long to visit?"